Supply Chain Software Companies Merge

SynQuest, Viewlocity and Tilion are joining forces to automate a range of supply chain procedures.

Two supply chain software makers, SynQuest Inc. and Viewlocity Inc., announced today a definitive agreement to merge operations.
SynQuest provides supply chain planning software, while Viewlocity offers supply chain event management soft-ware. Both companies are based in Atlanta.
A third company, Tilion Inc., will merge into the combined company to provide approximately $13 million in cash to the operation, officials said.

Once the transactions are complete the newly combined company, to be called SynQuest, will focus on developing financially focused supply chain planning and adaptive execution capabilities for customers with complex supply chains.

The combined software will provide adaptive supply chain capabilities for planning and maximizing supply chain profit in a changing environment, and integrating event management with planning to enable the execution of a plan given current conditions.
Tilion, of Maynard, Mass, is a venture-backed company that was intended to provide Internet-based event manage-ment solutions for logistics and supply chain managers. However, the company never produced products or customers and is instead providing capital for the new venture with SynQuest and Viewlocity. Tilion laid off most of its staff earlier this summer.
The merger extends an existing relationship between SynQuest and Viewlocity. Through a series of related transac-tions Viewlocity and Tilion will merge with SynQuest, with the latter company remaining as the surviving legal entity, offi-cials said.

Jeffrey Simpson, current CEO of Viewlocity, will serve as chairman and CEO of the merged company.
In addition to the cash infusion from Tilion, SynQuest will also issue between $14.5 million and $17 million of new shares of Series A convertible preferred stock at a price of $2.50 per share, in exchange for additional cash investments by existing shareholders of SynQuest and Viewlocity. Two investors include Battery Ventures and Warburg Pincus.
Tilion shareholders will also receive $13 million in shares of Series A stock.
The transactions, conditional upon each other, are expected to close December 31.
SynQuests business-process based solutions are already designed to go beyond a companys four walls. Its custom-ers include Ford Motor Co., Nissan North America, HON Industries, Simmons Co., Penske Logistics and Honda Express.
Viewlocitys software monitor supply chain execution against original plans and provides recommendations for solv-ing problems associated with unplanned events. Its customers include Dell, DHL and DSC Logistics.
Following the merger, the new company will sell and service all existing products and will initially focus on the automotive, consumer durables, industrial, high tech, printed packaging, retail/consumer packaged goods and third-party logistics markets.
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